Cold Hands
by Satou Kimura
Summary: Calmly, she waited for the impact to hit her, the cold floor. Yet, all she felt was strong arms wrapped round her lithe structure. Her eyes fluttered open and brown eyes met black, the black eyes of the Japanese male. KandaxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Cold hands**

**Chapter 1 Cold Tiled Floor**

Brown eyes observed the black tiled floor serenely as she fell closer towards it. She closed her chocolate eyes, hands automatically stretching out to protect the upper half of her body, remembering the tiled floor she shuddered slightly. However, it was not the impact which she dreaded, as she was very much used to it, it was how cold the floor looked from her point of view. Just as she was about to hit the solid ground, she remembered how she was playing round on the staircase with Lavi-kun, and how she forgot to look where she was going. She imagined Kanda-san's scolding face when he told her not to play around on the stairs.

_The railings are too low, _He had said _you'll fall._

Calmly, she waited for the impact to hit her, the cold floor. Yet, all she felt was strong arms wrapped round her lithe structure. She her eyes fluttered open and her brown eyes met black, the black eyes of the Japanese male. The brown haired girl detected a flash of relief in those eyes, then anger and annoyance. Kanda-san looked away quickly, but not before she sensed a tinge of pink on his pale features, and directed his anger to the red-head, who was rushing down the steps to see if she was hurt.

"Oi, Usagi!"

In one swift movement the Mugen was free of its container, almost emitting a dark aura… _desire_ for the dark red liquid, pulsing just beneath the emerald eyed male's fragile skin. The Mugen seemed to shiver in excitement, red hair and red blood. Sensing this, the girl whimpered slightly, tugging gently at the Japanese's man's shirt.

Kanda attempted to chase the red head as he spirited off into one of the many corridors that leaded out to god-knows-where, before realizing he was still holding on to her. In a sudden moment of panic, the dark eyed male let go, dropping the 14yr-old girl on to the floor.

Not expecting this, the brown haired girl let out a slight gasp at the impact, as her back hit the floor, brown hair splaying on to black ground. She regained her composure and quickly stood back up, dusting her dark colored skirt as she did so. Kanda's face reddened, looked away, and then chose to leave the room quickly, rather than to face the awkwardness of the situation.

The girl blinked before realizing what had happened and her face heated up. And the color? If a combusting tomato had a face that would be it. She took a silent note to always wear something under the skirt, as she walked back towards her room. And she totally forgot about how cold the black tiled floor was, and so also forgot the simple fact that,

_Black is not a color._


	2. Chapter 2

**Cold hands**

**Chapter 2 Cold Japanese Noodles**

"Kanda-san?"

Normally the Japanese wouldn't have even looked up, however hearing that it was _her_ voice… well that was different. So, Kanda Yuu looked up from his beloved soba and o-cha to see an extremely flustered brunette standing next to him.

"Hm?" the dark haired male answered.

She looked down at her brown boots, which looked slightly old, due to the way she would always run round, as she kicked the dust at the ground. Kanda sneezed. Her face heated up more so, and immediately stopped kicking, and so instead choosing to bite her bottom lip, frowning slightly. Finally, looking at the tip of her left shoe, her lips parted slightly.

"I..um.. I'm so sorry!"

Kanda blinked. His eyes widened slightly.

"I keep on playing around, and you warned me already… so…"

The end of her sentence trained off into silence as she struggled to find something else to say. The male stayed silent for several seconds, feeling slightly shocked then amused.

She was feeling extremely awkward when she felt a large hand, ruffling her smooth brown hair.

"Che."

It was not cold 'che', or like he was lashing out at her. It was warm, almost like a purr. It was an affectionate sound, just for her to hear. She looked up to meet the eyes of Kanda, they were a black. A cold color, as she sees it. Yet she saw a warm gentle glow in it, loving, like a father.

Her lips curved upwards, into a smile, cheeks dusted a slight shade of pink. The Japanese sat back down quickly, looked down at the cold Japanese noodles and the hot tea, his face matching the temperature of the drink.

The girl giggled.

"You know… Girls are supposed to blink twice as much as guys."

After a few large gulps of the tea, he looked back up, only to find that the 14-year old brunette was talking to the loud red head, laughing together.

"Baka usagi…" he muttered, before standing up and striding towards the pair, long silky hair letting a slight 'shushing' sound at the sudden movement.

Leaving the unfinished cold Japanese noodles behind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Cold hands**

**Chapter 3 Cold Windowpane**

A certain Japanese male kicked open the battered door to his room, stepping into the room before slamming it behind him. He kicked off his boots, and dumped his long, dark overcoat on to the floor, not caring if any of the dirt would be picked up by the coat. He sat himself on to the crimson sheets of the bed as he freed his long hair from the bonds of his black hair tie.

That idiot Komui had sent him to retrieve an innocence with the idiot new guy, _moyashi_, Allen Walker. The thought of his stupid smile irked him. The mission should have been finished within a day, but the moyashi had wasted so much time. So much of _his_ precious time, and causing some unnecessary injures.

He frowned deeply at the thought, then dismissed it with an offhanded 'che', and proceeds to unbutton his shirt.

"Hey."

Kanda looked up in surprise, to the sudden sound and the silver of light shining in to the room. Due to the sudden exposure to light, Kanda's dark eyes could not see in the bright light. He chose to close them.

"Close the door." He grunted. He heard a slight click as the door closed, and opened his eyes.

Before him was the brunette, wearing coral colored a sleeping gown, her eyes half-lidded due to lack of sleep…?

"Why are you in here?"

The girl took a second to register his question before answering sluggishly,

"I saw your golem. Komui said you should be back."

Silence.

Out of nowhere, she asked,

"Does it hurt?"

Kanda blinked.

"Huh?"

Her hand reached out to touch his bare chest, fingers resting on the lotus engraved in his skin. She couldn't go out of the Headquarters, but that didn't mean she was ignorant. If more, she knew more about everything happening more than anyone else, since there was nothing to do here. No one had told her, but she had seen the same mark on the cover of a book,_ Curses of the land of the Rising Sun,_ and made the connection with Kanda.

Blushing at the contact, Kanda was glad that the room was dark, hoping that the brunette wouldn't see.

"Well… no. It doesn't hurt but it feels…"

Kanda willed his sleep-deprived mind to find the correct word.

"…empty."

Yes, that was the word. Every time the curse was used the lotus took over a larger part of his skin, and inside it would feel as though… he lost a bit more of himself.

The girl frowned at that, the porcelain skin between her eyebrows creasing slightly. Her lips parted slightly as she spoke again,

"I see…"

Kanda changed his sitting posture, before taking this silence to examine the girl before her. Her dark colored hair was slightly messy, but still framed her heart-shaped face very well. Her coral colored sleeping gown hung to her petite frame. In some places the gown was slightly translucent, silvers of her pale skin could be seen and sometimes…

Kanda grunted and looked away.

The girl's head snapped over to the man and tilted her head slightly to the side. Timidly, she stepped forward, and sat on the satin sheets, next to the man.

Kanda tensed. In one swift movement, he pressed her against the bed sheets, which billowed out due to the sudden presence of weight. The man's warm body was pressed against her, arms pinned above her. Her hair splayed on the crimson sheets, cheeks burning to match the color. The man looked at the girl beneath him, eyes showing hunger, lust. She was in _his_ bed, and thinking about him.

Her eyes widened at the sudden change in situation, shock and was hesitant. Her eyes darted round his face, searching, for something. Anything. She felt his hot breath on her neck, ragged, coming closer.

"K-Kanda…san?"

Kanda pushed himself back up, hair obscuring most of his face. He stood up and walked over to the window. The girl struggled to take a look at the male's face.

"Out."

The female blinked. His hand tangled itself into his long silky hair, whilst the other pointed at the door.

"Get OUT!"

The girl stood up hurriedly and opened the wooden door. Before the door closed again, he heard a "sorry…" the creak of hinges and slight slam of the door. He heard the soft tapping sound of her bare feet on the tiled floor, before it grew completely silent.

He let out a long sigh, as his warm forehead connected with the frosting windowpane, his ragged breath making it mist up.

_What on the world was he doing…_


	4. Chapter 4

**Cold hands**

**Chapter 4 Cold snow**

She lay in the grassy extent of the gardens, staring at the blue sky. The white fluffy clouds drifted by, almost too bright for her auburn eyes. The grass was cool against her heated skin, and she could almost imagine that it wasn't winter when she was in the greenhouse. She had taken off her coat, and placed it on a bench nearby.

She heard the slight crunch of grass, as a certain someone walked towards her. Kanda looked down on to her, long hair dangling.

"Normally, people sit on the benches; not clothing."

Her already flustered cheeks reddened further, and she looked away. She frowned as the color before her eyes blurred. She closed her eyes, hoping them to adjust. Before they had time to do this, she felt a pair of strong warm arms scoop her up, and her eyes fluttered open. She opened her mouth in protest, but feeling her head ache, she just grabbed on to his shirt, feeling his warmth through it.

Kanda sighed.

"You're sick right?"

No answer.

Kanda took her coat and used it as a blanket, draping it across her fragile frame, before walking out of the greenhouse, and into the crisp air outside.

She felt the steady rhythm of him walking towards the main building, and grabbed on to his shirt again.

"Don't want to… go in."

Kanda stopped abruptly, looking down at the girl in his hands.

"The medical teams are finding you though. You shouldn't come out into the cold if you're sick."

She shook her head.

"…and I didn't come out into the cold. I went into the greenhouse…right?"

Kanda chuckled, then changed direction, not entering the main building, but towards the dorms' entrance.

Her half-lidded eyes looked up, a single question in her eyes.

_Where are we going?_

He smiled warmly, as he brushed off a stray bit of cold snow, resting on her hot cheek.

"Home."


	5. Chapter 5

**Cold hands**

**Chapter 5 Cold Apparatus**

Kanda placed the petit girl gentle on to the white sheets of her bed, as her chest heaved to the rhythm of her breathing. Her brown eyes were hidden behind her eyelids, long eyelashes fluttered slightly to every movement he made. Her pink lips were slightly apart, pouting, as if waiting for her prince to capture them.

Kanda smiled gently at the sleeping girl before him as he placed the thin white sheets over her, as if he would break her. You know how they wrap up china plates in stores; gently placing it in bubble wrap and then ten trillion sheets of that slightly creased pink paper? Just to keep them safe. Why? That's because these sort of things were important, and oh so easy to break. Kanda hoped that she would be safe in the Headquarters, and if it wasn't, he would make it so.

--

_The gloved hands shoved her roughly to the side along with a bunch of ten year olds, sorting them out, left, right, and right, left… the brown haired girl widened her doe-like eyes ignorant to what would be done to her, and a hundred others. Indeed ignorance is bliss. Ignorant to how many would be alive after this project of the Order would be finished; and even if someone told her, she wouldn't understand. She didn't remember anything, no sounds, no taste, no nothing. She was nothing. To her, the world meant nothing, but she hungered, hungered for the knowledge that she was lacking._

_The plastic covered hand roughly pulled her across to a metal table top were she was slammed on unceremoniously and stripped of the few scraps of cloth she had on. A bright light above half blinded her, but enough to see more gloved hands reaching for her. Cold metal instruments were scraped across her body. Skin sample. A thick needle pierced her back. Blood and marrow sample._

_Her mouth lacked the usual fluids as they collected all they could, blood, skin, hair, dignity, pride, knowledge… and finally her name. All along the child had not utter a single sound until a single cold long slender object pierced beneath her skin. The thick needle stayed under her skin for a second, then suddenly, a spluttering sound, a cry of pain. In a sudden jolt of impulsive movements she thrashed against the metal bonds that were holding her on to the table. Then, realizing there was nothing she could do she waited craning her neck so she could get a glimpse of what was happening. What she saw was not pretty, and would haunt her for the rest of her life. A dark liquid was moving, all on its own, trashing on the curve of her stomach, trying to crawl into the pit dug on her skin. What had already crawled in continued trashing, creating bulges against her skin, and bolts of pain that pierce her pure fragile soul. Silent pearls rolled down her cheeks as she swallowed in the unbearable pain, which was gnawing at her consciousness. As the last of the liquid swept into her wound, the opening on her skin seemed to magically suture itself back together again. The pain had gone down to a dull numb in the pit of her stomach and the gloved hands returned. They stuck another needle then carved in a single number—0. Now her very existence was to be defined by a single, ironic number._

--

The brown haired girl jolted up before tumbling back down on to the bed, due to the tangle of sheets she was knotted in. Cold sweat tumbled down on to her body, covering it like a glaze or varnish. Her breath came out in ragged gasps, and her russet eyes darted round the room, in fear of any gloved hands. All she found was a sleeping male next to her who was breathing softly; his forehead was slightly creased, as if in deep thought. The smooth hair of his was loose of its usual pony and splayed over the snow white sheets. She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and smiled lovingly at the man before her. Gently, so it wouldn't wake his up, she brushed some long pieces of hair out of his eyes and placed a light kiss on to his cheek.

_If you knew what you meant to me._

Suddenly, she felt a tug of dull pain in her abdomen, rising up along her system rapidly. Along with the interweave of sheets she ran into out into the corridor, closing the door gently behind her before breaking into a fit of coughs. She covered her mouth as this unnatural sound was ripped from her throat. After she was sure the cough had died down she removed her hand from her mouth and smeared whatever liquid was on her hand transferring it to the sheets. As she brought it up to her lips to wipe that down as well she froze. On the sheets were a crimson stain, she touched her lips with a trembling hand, only to find scarlet droplets of blood on her fingers. _Her_ blood.


	6. Chapter 6

**Cold hand****s**

**Chapter 6 Cold Metal Ground**

Komui rubbed at his scalp with his stiff fingers in hope to erase the growing headache and warm those fingertips. Being in the black order was not as easy as it seemed to be, but he would continue, all for his beloved baby sister.

He smiled slightly, an image of Lenalee flashing before him, _no baby anymore, a grown woman._ Just as he turned back to his endless piles of work several loud impatient knocks came from the door. He sighed, guessing it was a certain Japanese exorcist looking for something to do.

"Come in."

He surprised to see the brown haired girl burst into his room. It was surprising that she chose to come in; more so the ruffed appearance and anxious look.

"Oh. Well, sit down, sit down."

He never knew what to do around that young girl. There was no name or job that made it necessary to call upon her and so he never did, only exchanging polite nods as they passed each other in the dark corridors. There was only one occasion where she had been in this room alone with him, and it had not been pleasant.

The brown haired girl set herself down shakily, taking large gulps of air. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot and there was a slight stain of red at her dried lips.

No, she wasn't anxious, it was fear, dread.

Finally, she composed herself, and spoke.

"Komui…"

He remained silent, knowing better than to break her off. She closed her blooded eyes before continuing.

"… I need to see Hevlaska."

He stood up immediately, knowing that she only asked for an audience because she knew she might need one. There was unknown. 'It' might have happened.

As they made their way to the lowest floor of the Black Order she told him what had happened. It was more of snippets of words or phrases, rather than the flow of words she normally said. Sometimes her legs seemed too weak to support herself and buckle slightly, before she regained her posture, standing up shakily.

"I see."

He said as they walked towards the platform. Hevlaska looked down at them, an almost surprised look on her face; though it was hard to tell.

She held her small hands out to Hevlaska and she reached out for the browned hair girl. She closed her eyes as Hevlaska probed gently into her checking for the presence of the dark innocence within her. Not a painful experience, just… not a natural thing that a human would be used to. As one of Hevlaska's gently touched the silent girl's abdomen, her brown eyes snapped opened, an unnatural cough ripped from her throat. The girl tried to cover her mouth as she coughed, to stop the crimson liquid from flowing.

_It has happened._

Her breathing was ragged as Hevlaska placed her back on to the raised platform. The brown haired girl struggled to stand for a second or two, before giving up, thinking she would land on to the floor. Komui held her up with large warm hands, for this was the only thing he could do for her.

"…you said it was of the smallest percentage…"

_It may have been of the smallest percentage, however, liable to happen._

Komui glanced at the girl before her recalling the prophecy Hevlaska had told her. He could not remember. Just as this girl's name was forgotten. He breathed out a gasp.

"The rebound, in its most deadly form."

She smiled bitterly at Komui as she fell to the cold metal ground, this time no one to catch her. _Not even Kanda._

Blackout.


	7. Chapter 7

**Cold hands**

**Chapter****7 Cold****Landscape**

_The __Japanese __man __looked round his room. He had been in the room from the time he came to the black order as an __exorcist. The same white sheets on the very same bed, the same delicate cracks that spread on the four walls, the very same simple table placed to the side on the room.__The lotus that only his dark eyes could see were __scattered round __the room as usual.__But something was __wrong __though.__Very wrong._ _The __lotuses were __normally of a white color, dusted with pink. These __lotuses __were of a deep crimson color, and in some primitive part of his mind __Kanda __linked the crimson color with the liquid that were currently pounding through his veins. __A sense of foreboding swept through him, a feeling that Kanda Yuu, __though __he would die before admitting, took seriously.__One, it was almost always correct, and two, this feeling normally linked to a __certain __brown haired girl._

_The solid room around the man changed, melting, and reforming. The floor beneath him gave way and he dropped suddenly. The __Japanese __closed his eyes, hoping it would help his churning stomach. Then after what seemed like a __minute, his boots hit water. The male's black orbs examined the area with an air of wariness, as he observed every area he was unfamiliar with. The substance he was on seemed to be water, though he could around walk with no __visible __problem.__The sky that seemed to __stretch __on __forever_ _was_ _of a cold __gray, void of any color, and in fact, the landscape was of monochrome. A single __structure __stood out of from the gray sea. It was the instrument of crucifixion.__The_ _Christian __cross showed __signs __of intense weathering. There were large cracks __running __down from the center of the cross, spreading like a network of webs. There were no lotuses here. Though this place was as __cold__ as it was, the lack of lotuses gave him a __slight feeling __of…?_

Kanda jolted up from the edge of his bed, upon hearing the sound of a creaking hinges. The bleary-eyed Japanese man looked over to find the petit brown haired girl at the bathroom door. Her hair was slightly damp, and she was in an over-large shirt; one that he recognized as his own. From the white shirt, slender milky legs made their way towards the bed. She held a fluffy white towel held in her hands. She sat herself on to edge of the bed, leaning towards the Japanese male, studying him with her doe-like eyes. Kanda blinked. The girl was still staring at him intently, and he stared right back. Within those familiar eyes he saw something foreign. He couldn't exactly place his finger on it, and before he could figure anything out she pulled back, smiling.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?"

Kanda looked down, choosing not to reply. He was uneasy, due to the disturbing dream, feeling of foreboding and the presence of the girl. The girl looked at the man again with those large innocent eyes of hers. She cocked her head to one side, silently questioning him. She could sense his uneasiness. After several minutes of silence he observed the girl again. She was now perched at the edge of the bed, mahogany hair blocking his view of her face. He hadn't noticed before, but the girl was slightly pale, and her fingers were unconsciously tracing a heart shape repetitively over the same spot. Suddenly she slammed her hand on to the heart she had been tracing, her body leaning forward as the perspiration covered her lithe body. She stood up abruptly, making her way to the toilet as fast as her slender legs would carry her. As she tried to slam the door shut, a hand held it in place firmly. The girl whimpered, fear laced in her voice, as she desperately tried to close the door. She couldn't let Kanda see her like that.

"Don't… please. Let me close the door."

The simple plea almost made his hand let go, but he held on to it before yanking it back. There was something wrong with her, and he needed to know. He needed to protect her.

As the light streamed into the dark bathroom, he saw more and more of the girl the very thing he had hoped not to ever see. The girl, seeing that she could not close the door had backed up to the furthest wall, holding herself into a tight small ball position in the corner. He could hear her ragged breathing as perspiration slide down her body. As he approached, the sense of foreboding grew, from the light taps at his skull to a thudding at the pit of his stomach. Kanda reached up to flick on the lights, never allowing his gaze to leave the girl's frame. As light flooded the lavatory he saw the girl covering her bloodshot eyes. The Japanese male held firmly on to the girl's wrist, pulling her up firmly, but gently.

Sweat had soaked the whole of the white shirt, and through the thin cotton he could faintly make out dark shapes at her abdomen. And the shapes were moving. _Moving_. The girl looked at Kanda with an urgency and pleading. Tears welled up in her eyes, and then poured down her cheeks, no matter how hard she tried to keep them at bay. The only thing that was coursing through her mind was:_ he saw_. He saw the disgusting part of her. He saw why even Komui was wary of her. He saw her in this pitiful state. He saw what had she hated most. He saw.

Through the blur of tears, she saw his sharp intake of breath and an expression she did not ever want to be painted on to his elegant features. A pained expression. Without a word, he let go of her wrist. She knew exactly what would happen next. He would leave. Leave her in writhing pathetically on the floor. Leave her life. Leave her forever.

But he didn't.

He took a step towards her, embracing her in his arms. The girl's eyes widened, her hands placed in an awkward position in front of her. She submitted to him. Her arms snuck round Kanda, and she buried her face into his white shirt, breathing in his unique scent. The light scent of the soap he used, the green tea he drank every day, the smell of the oil that he used to polish his only weapon, the Mugen. Slowly the girl's breathing calmed to the tempo at which he was stroking the brunette's soft hair. The young girl pulled back slightly, so that her voice would not be muffled by the white fabric.

"You don't hate me?"

The male sighed.

"Look at me."

She looked up obediently, patiently waiting for the answer to leave his lips. Her brown eyes no longer showed the raw fear, but purely curiosity.

"I don't hate you. I hate whatever's hurting you."

Kanda blinked. Had he just said that? The Japanese males faced burned up, as he recalled what he had just said. The girl laughed a tinkling of bells, before burying her head back into his shirt.

"Thank you… Yuu."

He smiled gently, all embarrassment momentarily forgotten, as he placed a warm hand on the top of her head.

"I can call you that, right?"

"What…?"

"Your first name."

"Oh."

His first name. It was only used by the ones closest to him, and supposedly with permission by him. It wasn't that Kanda Yuu wasn't close to the baka-usagi or General Tiedoll, but he hadn't exactly asked… and with the suffix "-chan". By the gods above, he was a full grown man, not some kid. Of course he would she could call her that. She was the closest person to him. She was the person who actually looked through the mask of the Japanese male. She was the one who had given him renewed energy to fight. He would have agreed on that any time. But something was stopping him from saying the word 'yes'. The image of the cold landscape he had seen flashed before him. The sense of foreboding.

He ignored it

And he would pay for it.

--

I believe this is my first author's note… whoa; it's kind of weird saying that I'm an author. So, I know I write chapters short, so I'll try to update every week, but it depends whether I have tests or homework or not… its still the start of the school year, so I'll be able to update more, but as the year goes on, I might be slower, or write without checking, so bear with me.

By the way, thanks to Ritsikas, Luna X Lavi, Lathya, Skitter, Watashi no Kare wa Alto and Memmi for reviewing!

Ore wa jibun no besto o yatemimsuyo~ ne? Do desuka?

Wo hui zhuo dao wo de zhui hao de! Kan ze ba!

KiMu~


	8. Chapter 8

**Cold hands**

**Chapter ****8**** Cold ****Sweat**

_The __dream continued and the Japanese male was back. Back into the gray world; the weathered crucifix; the lack of lotuses. Kanda gritted his teeth, hoping the action would help suppress the sense of foreboding that crawled up his chest. The feeling was overwhelming; almost to the point he felt his body would give way, as it would have happened to any normal person. _

_But Kanda Yuu was no normal person._

_He was a second exorcist and he had walked out of so many battles unharmed. No way was he going to give way to some feeling in his gut. From the base of the worn pillar, green vines shot up crawling over the artifact before him. He took a step back. He took a step back because he recognized the vines, the stems… whatever you wished to call them. He recognized them even before they bloomed. They were lotuses. It was the blood red ones, which seemed to turn their elegant faces towards him, staring, and waiting. He was about to turn on his heel, to attempt to outrun the vines that seemed to twist their way towards Kanda, but he didn't run. Because,_

_Yuu… Yuu…_

_Kanda froze. He recognized the voice. The dark eyes darted round, in attempt to find the source of the sound. The well trained eyes of the samurai detected a flicker of movement through the red and green mass and he raced towards it, tearing the thick vines that got in his way. Just when he thought he was getting closer, the vines shot up and out, lifting the brown haired girl's petit body up and pulling the dark haired male away. He didn't get to the girl, but he got a good view. A horrific view._

_The girl was stripped of her normal attire and the thick vines bond her to the crucifix. Her pale flesh was scattered with bruises and cuts, crimson liquid flowing from them. Her hair was in a tangled mess and when she looked up Kanda winced. Her eyes were bloodshot and her cheek adorned with a deep cut. She parted those cracked lips of hers and blood dribbled out from the corner of her mouth._

_Then, right there, in that painful situation she did the most ridiculous thing, but it was also the thing that the male knew she would do, she smiled. His heart skipped a beat at the pure innocence of it but broke as he reviewed the situation she was in._

_Kanda was proud of himself. Proud of the power he had from the years of hard core training._

_Yet he could not save her._

_And it felt like she was saving him instead._

_The girl opened her mouth again, as if to speak, but the merciless vines tightened at that very moment, breaking her supply of the already low oxygen she had. Her body gave one last shudder, eyes glassed over and the heaving of her chest stopped. The ragged breathing stopped. At the same time…_

…_Kanda's world came to a halt._

The male jolted up, cold sweat running down his pale skin. Stray pieces of his long hair were stuck to the back of his neck. He looked round, hoping to find that the petit girl was in the room, only finding that he was the only person in here. Kanda mentally slapped himself, telling himself it would be inappropriate for a girl to be in his bedroom with him.

Just when he was going to collapse back into the bed, a sudden memory jolted him back up.

"_eto… Yuu?"_

_Kanda glanced looked at the girl, who was fidgeting on the edge of his bed. When she didn't look up he tilted her chin up._

"_What?"_

_His tone was harsh, but in his dark eyes, the girl saw softness in the orbs. She smiled slightly._

"_Eh… Komui said… something about seeing him. He also said… some higher ups might be there."_

_Kanda scowled slightly, but otherwise made no other intention of stopping her. Not that he could do anything to stop it. Not when it was the higher ups. Kanda had never seen the faces of the higher ups, but had always seen dark shadows behind a tinted glass, just next to Hevlaska. They were there. Always, observing exorcists from behind the glass. Kanda didn't like them._

_It was just a slight dislike when he was younger, but even since he found out that _they_ had ordered for the second exorcists to be created he hated them._

_Currently, he absolutely loathed them._

_He gripped his Mugen, as if somehow he could to slice them up or something._

_But he couldn't._

_Sensing his unease, the girl tapped at his temple softly, and then smiled._

"_I'll be back in no time."_

_The male looked at her, skeptically, eyes brimming with emotion that the brown eyes hadn't seen in a very long time. _

"_I promise."_

_The male pulled away, and she felt the heat of his hand lingering on her chin. She pressed her lips together, thinking that Kanda didn't believe her. She was going to speak again but then and there he did the impossible._

_He pouted._

_Kanda. Yuu._

_Pouted._

_She laughed at the look on Kanda's face, at the sheer cuteness and infantile behavior that the normally arrogant male was showing._

_Serene smile back on her face she spoke once more._

"_I don't lie; at least not to Yuu, neh?"_

_Then she giggled again, brown eyes showing a teasing glint._

"_At least not to a pouting cutie."_

--

Kanda had ignored the last comment, but took the rest to heart. She didn't lie; at least not to him. It was hard to not trust the innocent girl, and he did trust her; but there was hardly any trust directed towards the puppeteers of the order. He hadn't even _seen_ those cocky bastards, let alone trust.

Glancing at the dusty window pane, he made a mental note that it was barely sunrise, but slipped on a shirt anyway. Not that he could fall asleep with the churning of his stomach. He reached out for his Mugen, only to remember it was with Hevlaska or the Science department, since it was reduced to mere ashes due to the last mission.

The male buttoned up his white shirt so that the symbol on his chest would be veiled, and gathered his silky hair into a low ponytail.

A siren sounded in the distance, which Kanda chose to ignore.

Knowing Komui, it was most probably an explosion in the Science Lab.

As the Siren grew closer, and he heard the contents of the alarm, he jolted up, cold sweat breaking over him. He wrenched the door open and ran out, not bothering to close it.

_AKUMA INVASION! EXCROISTS ALERT! AKUMA ALER—_

His fear was partly because there had never been an Akuma invasion at the order, but mostly because of the sinking feeling in his stomach. Because he knew.

They were after her.

--

Shit, sorry for the late update. Like REALLY late update. You being such amazing people should understand that when you go for a holiday in Xi An and you lose your usb and the computer that u rented sucks shit and you have to pay extra for the goddamn internet, its just plain annoying.

And my grades have decided that jumping off a 50000000 storey building is a good idea. I'm thinking of following them.

So did u enjoy it?

Ah well.

Just review.

And thx to ppl who added me to fav list and reviewed.

--

might be wondering y im writing again.

well

to rant.

I tried the uploading manager thing 7 times and it didnt work.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW~

ok im calm now.

review plz.


	9. Chapter 9

**Cold hands**

**Chapter 9**** Cold****Hands**

There was a sickening crack as the level four threw yet another scientist on to the growing pile dead bodies. Amongst the dead was a single brown haired girl. She whimpered as another body was added to the pile and cupped her ears using her hands, hoping to block out the Level four's voice. The childish voice coming out of the child-like face would almost be cute, except for the fact that its eyes were abnormally large and for the bloated body. Its face adored a sick smile that reminded her of the Millennium Earl's own. It disgusted her.

The girl was hiding behind the pile of corpses, and she was glad that the pile just kept on growing… She stopped herself from thinking of any more of those revolting thoughts, pale bodice shuddering. She could not think of these thoughts while Kanda was here… she smiled softly at the thought of the Japanese male. You know what they say, cold hands, and warm heart. Kanda had a warm heart, but a cold front. He built a wall of indifference round him, just so his fragile heart would not be broken. Now that the girl had broken through the wall of indifference, she would not dream of breaking him. Not a chance.

Another thud brought her back to reality, and she realized that the Level four was now walking round, attempting to find anything that it did not kill. A cold sweat broke at her brow and slide down her pale skin. She forced her breathing to a steady pace, hoping that the monster's keen sense of hearing would not pick up the frantic beating of her heart. Fear.

Fear.

She had forgotten the feeling.

She had not felt it for so long. Not even when the Cloaked higher ups had summoned upon her. Not even when their cold eyes stared at her from a distance, seeming to pierce to her very soul. Seeming to see through every lie she said. It was suffocating, but it was not fear.

This was fear.

The feeling that tugged desperately at her gut, the restrictions that seemed to have built themselves around her heart, as it beat frantically against it, the raw instinct of an animal that just wished to run. But what hurt most was when she imagined how she had left Kanda in his room, without any means of protecting himself from the Akuma, now that Hevelaska had took it to rebuild. Her heart gave a sickening lurch at this thought, and she almost gasped in pain, only to remember that the Level four was still prowling round the area.

A shadow cast itself over her, and a sadistic giggling reached her ears. She cleared her vision which was blurred with tears, to find the mutant starring down at her. Its smile widened as it saw that the girl was rooted to the spot, and dressed in a soft blue dress that would not allow any hidden weapon. Weak prey, easy prey.

"Weak prey isn't worth talking to. Hmmm…"

It was obvious that the Level four already had an answer within that twisted mind, but made a show of it by pouting and tapping its abnormally large head.

In a blur of movement, the level four's bladed hand slammed into the girl's shoulder, making her crash into the pile of corpses behind her. The level four pinned her down to the floor, bruising her already blacked abdomen. The bodies scattered around them like dolls, lifeless orbs for eyes. The Akuma laughed in a manner that was almost motherly, and then whispered into her ear.

"Recognize anyone?"

The girl gritted her teeth as pictures of Kanda flashed into her mind. The stronger Kanda who had always protected her, then the Kanda without his weapon, sprawled on the floor, eyes lifeless, and hands as cold as her frozen heart. She had to fight.

And fight she would.

--

_14 years ago_

_Science lab, critical state_

_There once lived a lass,_

_She was brought up in the lab._

_She was killed and born a million times,_

_And still she did not whine._

_But then one day,_

_They decided to say,_

_She was ready for the gift._

_It worked out wrong,_

_Just like this song,_

_And the lab was, oh, so gone._

--

The same thing that happened in the poem unfolded before Kanda's eyes.

He watched the dark matter rush over her body, changing the color of her porcelain skin from beneath.

He watched as she fought.

He watched as the Akuma threw her on to the floor.

He watched as the Akuma threw its head back and laughed.

And still he did not do anything. Still he could not do anything.

He was useless.

His freezing hands clenched the makeshift-weapon as he heard a dull thud from the girl's body contacting the wall.

_Fuck this all._


	10. Chapter 10

**Cold hands**

Chapter 10: omake Cold Hands

Kanda Yuu hates today.

Maybe this needs a bit of analysis.

Kanda hates a lot of things, on the top of his extensive list; sickly sweet stuff that melts in his mouth, women that seem to follow him around, annoying short people and… Pink.

This all leads to the one day that he hates the most.

St. Valentines.

His relationship with Valentine's Day was always bitter, prissy, and foul; despite the irony that it should be sweet, cute and beautiful, with love gushing from two idiotic lovers. The Japanese male would rather just pretend the whole concept didn't exist. He knew that anything deliberately planned for Valentine's Day would automatically fall apart in some kind of stupidly spectacular way. It didn't help that in Japan you had white Valentines' which was just as bad.

Then again, it might just be the way his life had panned out.

He just hates today.

--

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. white chocolate, finely chopped

2 tsp matcha powder

1 Tbsp milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

*green tea powder for coating

Preparation:

Finely chop white chocolate and put them in a medium bowl.

Put 2 tsp of green tea powder in a small bowl. Warm milk in microwave and pour over green tea powder. Stir well.

Put heavy cream in a small pan. Heat the cream on medium heat and stop the heat before cream starts to boil. Stir in the milk mixture.

Pour the hot cream over white chocolate.

Melt the chocolate, stirring well.

Cool the chocolate mixture for about one hour in the room temperature.

Scoop the chocolate into about 1 1/2 inch balls and place them on a sheet of aluminum foil.

Cool them in the refrigerator for about one hour, or until firm.

Round chocolate balls by hands and coat with green tea powder on a tray.

Cool green tea chocolate balls until firm.

*Makes 12 balls

She squinted at the recipe.

Maybe she should have listened to the cook's advice when he said it was too complex for an amateur. She sighed, sending grains of matcha powder to god-knows-where. She remembered Fou's words of the… Belentine's tradition to make chocolates… so she wanted to make it, and she wanted to meet… Yuu. She heard that Yuu had silky dark hair and she really hoped that she would meet her today.

The girl decided that boiling the water would take too much time, and since all of it would all mix together anyway, she dumped them all into the bowl and into the microwave… for 20 minutes.

Bad move.

She opened the oven and the pungent smell of burnt chocolate and heavy cream hit her like a ton of bricks.

Oh.

The young girl would probably have spoken a string of colorful language if she knew any. She gaped at the burnt chocolate mixture with her large brown eyes.

Again, Bad move.

Too bad she didn't know that burnt chocolate was poisonous.

--

She woke up in a dark room with two beds side by side. She sat up, glancing round the room. From the bed on the right, she saw Glass cabinets and wooden cupboards to the left wall. From behind her head was a large machine thing wired up with many wires. The vibrant colors of the wires contrasted the dusty colors of the rest of the room.

"Awake?"

Her head whipped round to the source of the voice and it turned out to be a Asian boy with a horizontal scar across his nose. He was the one people called… Alma.

"uh… did you put me here?"

Alma shook his head, smiling.

"Yuu did. You know burnt chocolate's poisonous?"

Oh. Opps.

"Where's 'Yuu'?"

His smile widened. The boy seemed to enjoy talking.

He ranted on about who 'Yuu' was but her eyes just wandered off, glancing to and fro.

"… he such a scowling idiot but…"

_He_?

A loud thud of a boot connecting with Alma's head brought her back to earth.

"…eh? The idiot's awake?"

The young Japanese male had found the idiot girl on the kitchen floor, eyes glazed over.

He almost laughed at the sight.

Hey but this was Yuu, laughing wasn't in his dictionary… was it? He merely rolled his eyes and brought her up to his room, making an excuse to Alma that he didn't want the kitchen to be closed because of a idiot that cant temper chocolate.

_Though it might be closed anyway_. He thought as he relayed the disastrous state of the kitchen.

"Are you Yuu?"

The idiot girl had stood up looking at him with those doe like eyes. Her auburn hair was slightly tangled. A smudge of chocolate was on her flushed cheek, staining her prefect porcelain skin… wait. WHAT?

"You've got chocolate on your cheek, idiot."

She flushed further and turned round, scrubbing her cheek furiously. After a second or two, she peeked round, a question in her round eyes.

He rolled his eyes and turned on his heel, and sprinted out.

The typical Kanda, but of course, the little girl didn't know that and raced on behind him. Lenny-san had always said that she was a fast runner but she could hardly catch up with the boy.

She lost him in a room full of holes filled with some bubbling liquid. She had never been here. Kneeling down beside one, she peered into the hole.

White wisps of smoke surrounding the hole was disturbed by the girl's movement and moved up and out. The clear liquid disorientated the image but there was no mistaking it. It was a girl. She had long white hair which flowed round her small curled body. She seemed so lonely and fragile, if only she could touch…

"OI!"

The brown haired girl jerked back, falling on to her back.

"Omph…!"

She opened her eyes, only to see the Japanese male standing over her, frowning. His dark hair obscured his face so half of it was in shadow, giving Kanda a almost comical look.

"Pfft…"

She curled up in a ball, hoping to mask up her laughter. He frowned further, if possible, and roughly pulled her shoulder, forcing her to stand up. Grabbing her wrists, he held her arms up, and then twirled her round in a ballerina fashion. Satisfied that she had no injuries, he let her go.

Of course, the girl didn't know that, and this just made her crack up even more.

She skipped away, laughing.

"You're funny… See ya Yuu!"

As he watched her retreating figure, he frowned.

He didn't know her name.

--

_A few hours later_

He met the idiot girl again. Bumped into her.

Well, more like smashed into him in the corridor.

Shit, he was still weak from the sycro… and his arm fell off.

"Oh…*INSERT STRING OF CURSES OF CHOICE*"

The girl gave a little squeak, and then saw the boy crumple to the floor, holding his arm… or at least where it was.

All Kanda felt was an excruciating pain, which seemed to hurt more every time blood pulsed through him.

He felt a different sensation.

Through the white pain, a single stroke.

--

The girl didn't know what to do, and she did what Fou had told her before. Gently, she stroked his hair from his sweating forehead. Putting down the small pink box on to the floor, she wrapped her arms round his lithe body, cradling him gently, careful not to cause anymore pain for the boy.

Finally, the boy stopped shaking and his breathing steadied.

She smiled, happy that she had done at least one thing correct. As Kanda looked up, the girl planted a small kiss on to the top of his forehead, smiling softly. She put the pink box into his hand and wrapped his finger round the box so that he held the box containing the single green tea truffle that had come out of the ingredients for 12. At that moment, he wasn't haunted by any woman-like ghost, but saw an angel. The girl bent down to his ear and whispered,

"Happy Valentines', Yuu."


	11. Chapter 11

**Cold hands**

**Chapter ****11**** Cold Hands**

She didn't remember anything from the battle.

All she remembered was Yuu charging over to her and the Level four before she lost consciousness. And she's been going in and out of it ever since.

Her head throbbed painfully, she didn't even bother trying to sit up or talk, she knew she couldn't. The pain was excruciating. Anything would be better than this…

"Nurse—"

What was all this hassle about? Couldn't they all see that she was finally having the rest that she needed…

"—emergency—"

Emergency missions could wait… and she didn't even need to go on missions…

"She has to live—"

There was a soft tapping on her shoulder, she twisted her head around.

Her eyes remained closed. The sudden silence of the room surprised her, wasn't everyone screaming about emergency missions just now? Hmm… and why didn't it hurt anymore?

The tapping continued.

Ignore.

Tapping.

She couldn't stand it any longer and turned around to face… a mirror.

Huh?

She must be dreaming.

She tried to close her eyes, wanting to catch the last shreds of sleep… no such luck.

She sighed softly and turned to face the mirror.

At first she didn't see anything.

It was just herself.

A second, a minute… she wasn't sure, but sometime past…

The mirror was slightly blurred… the girl frowned and rubbed at the spot on the mirror near her nose.

When it came back to focus…

"—I want to see—"

"She need— rest—"

The mirror was back again, and it wasn't blurry anymore… but something was off… what is it?

There was a black smudge on my nose. I tried to look at my real nose. I rubbed it. It didn't seem to be dirty.

I shrugged. Must be the mirror.

Then suddenly, from that tiny little smudge a million thin threads shot out, enveloping me, pulling me.

I tried swatting them away, shaking my head, pulling back but it was no use I let out a scream and—

She opened my eyes to a darkened room. The headache was back, but now it was a dull throbbing. She heard nurses scrabbling this way and that… yes, she must be in the hospital…

When, finally, everything seemed to come into focus, she saw a pair of dark eyes staring at her.

"Yuu."

She winced when she heard the cracking of her voice.

Half of Yuu's face was hidden in the shadow, but she could see that his eyes that flowed with an indescribable feeling. Was it hurt? Betray?

She didn't want to look at Yuu's face. She had probably done something awful, something she didn't even know about.

Why was she hurt…?

She couldn't remember anything at all… all she could remember was Yuu.

He stared at her for a long while.

"Do you know where we are?"

His voice was soft, but it held a slight edge… was it… fear?

Was he afraid of what he was going to hear? Or was he afraid of the girl before him?

"Ummm… the hospital?"

"Yeah… close enough, the Nurse's room. In the Order."

She frowned in confusion.

"Order? What do you mean?"

The Japanese male's worst fears had been confirmed.

SORRY.

For not updating.

SORRY.

For not knowing what the heck I'm actually writing about…

And sorry.

The reason behind this last sorry…

Oh god.

Ummm… like… this story, you know, I haven't actually planned anything out for it, and I never actually expected to get any reviews… so…I'm so sorry, but, it will have to go on hiatus…

I dunno for how long… probably until I get a good idea… but PM me if you have any ideas… and twitter me if you want. Search for 'sylsyltong' and you'll probably find me.

Again, I'm so sorry.

But I'm starting a new story XD

It's modern fanfic of Marian Cross and OC…

So I'll give you a snippet and you can decide if you like it or not…

The man reached inside his heavy coat and pulled out a smoke. As a habit, Hikari immediately lit it, before it even reached his lips. He took a deep draw of the cigarette, and breathed out. Even through the smoke, Hikari could feel his eyes boring to the back of her head as she turned round to get a cup ready. She kept her head down determinedly.

"They train you well." His voice was silky and deep.

"I wasn't trained here." (But by the strict equiette class at Black order.)

"I see. They don't train kids?"

That struck a nerve.

Her head shot up, turned round sharply. Her tongue ready to shoot out some viscous comment, but at the look of amusement etched across his face, her anger subsided, and she only managed a soft grunt of annoyance.

A deep chuckle rolled off smoothly from the bottom of his throat and reached her ears.

"Let's see if they've got a good bartender then, shall we?"

Hikari flicked a piece of auburn hair over her shoulder and gazed at him through the top of her eyelashes.

"They do. What drink Mr…?"

"Cross Marian, anything you can conjure up Ms…ah… Black."


	12. Chapter 12

**Cold Hands**

**Chapter 12 Cold Tears**

* * *

_As long as I remember Yuu, it's fine._

That was the single thought that seemed to reflect from her eyes to the Japanese male's.

'Where is this, Yuu?' If possible, the brown haired girl's eyes seemed even more innocent due to the many things that the amnesia had allowed her to disregard.

* * *

Kanda had been in turmoil for many days. He went to visit the girl whenever he had free time and when the nurse would allow it. It appeared that the girl had no recollection of Allen, Lenalee— even Lavi whom she played round with so often. She seemed to shrink whenever someone other than Yuu approached her and would only nod meekly at their every question. The few people that bothered visit her had never come again. Her unenthusiastic response had led to a rise in unpopularity for the girl.

_Useless, weak. Using up all our resources but doing nothing. _People of the Order were more judgmental than ever. Her odd personality, lack of action and missions had led to suspicion and criticism.

Kanda suspected she always thought that no one knew her, and that no one bothered to give a second thought to her. Sometimes in her twitchy sleep patterns he would hear things that suggested that she thought he stayed with her out of pity. _Completely false. _He gave a deep sigh. He had just felt the need to protect her like she had when they were children. It was a obligation, but only because the brown haired girl was important to the man. _And still is important. Very important._

Kanda was faced with the impossible. Was he to help her remember, or allow her to live without? One the one hand, these were her memories, and she should remember them. It seemed almost obvious. But the more Kanda had talked to her, the more he realized how much more cheery she was. She didn't have many sleepless nights and her eyes had regained the child-like innocence that Kanda had seen on their first meeting. Would this be enough? Would Kanda be able to create new memories to conceal those that had haunted the girl he treasured?

It was then that Lavi had sat next to Kanda in the cafeteria and shook the Japanese man out of his thoughts. His eye twinkled with cheer but it barely concealed the worry. Kanda was bad with observation, but it was obvious that Lavi had slept very little. Lavi loved sleeping.

'I sure hope… I sure hope she gets well soon.'

Kanda gave him a raised eyebrow and gave the red head a stiff nod before leaving the unfinished soba.

Kanda could not be selfish. The brown haired girl had friends, had people in the Order she would not like to forget. Kanda would never be enough for her.

* * *

The man gripped the cold plastic handles of the wheelchair, clearing his throat before speaking 'Greenhouse. You left your coat on the bench and slept on the ground. Like a retard.'

The girl laugh, her tinkling laugh ringing like bells in the silence, before breaking down to irregular coughing. She wiped the blood on to her skirt without a second thought.

'Ahh, I'm sure that'd feel nice today as well. The sky is quite pretty.'

Kanda glanced up.

The sky was a cold black. Kanda felt like crying for the first time since he was born.

* * *

AN: Hello! I haven't been writing in this style for so long, I'm sure it's changed quite a lot... but I have to say it's very fun writing in these shorter chapters. I'm hoping I can work on Cold Hands more then!

xoxo


	13. Chapter 13

Cold Hands

* * *

Chapter 13 Cold truth

* * *

It was not unusual for Kanda to be summoned by Komui, but the odd thing was the location. Komui had went down to the cafeteria personally and asked if Kanda could come see Hevlaska with him. He had also smiled warmly to the girl beside him and asked kindly if she would be okay with staying in the cafeteria with Lenalee, who stood anxiously behind the supervisor. The doe-eyed girl nodded, sipping at her soup and Kanda mumbled a distinct 'Don't do weird things.' Before sweeping off with the supervisor.

As the elevator descended to reach the ghost-like exorcist, Komui took off his beret and fiddled with it for a while, before speaking softly, tenderly,

'There are things you must know about the girl.'

Kanda stayed silent, noting the severity in his tone of voice and willed Komui to speak more.

Komui continued to stay silent until they were at Hevlaska's presence.

To the Japanese male's deep annoyance, Malcolm C. Levrier and other masked higher-ups were already there. Waiting. Levrier cleared his throat obnoxiously, an action to catch attention rather than it's function. When he surveyed the area to see that everyone was listening, he stated

'We are here to discuss the nameless female exorcist in the English branch. Hevlaska will explain the situation of said female.'

Hevlaska shifted, as though in slight unease. When the pause extended, Levrier gave Hevlaska a pointed stare, and Hevlaska nodded stiffly.

_The brown haired girl is 'the Sacrifice of War'. She has known, already from the day she was able to synchronize with her innocence._

There was a murmur that rippled through the cloaked higher-ups. A female, judging from the voice, asked.

'And? What is her prophecy?'

_None. She has no prophecy. It is my assumption that she is, indeed, a sacrifice for the experiments to raise synchronization percentage. _

White hot anger seared through Kanda as he heard these facts, with the skin of his knuckles white as he tightened his fists. He still needed to know more, he couldn't lose his temper now and let them kick him out.

'There is no importance in her actions then! We just need to keep her here till she is dead.'

'Maybe we could experiment more.'

'She is a sacrifice...?'

Levrier waited patiently for all the speculation to die down. Kanda was near breaking point, but kept his lips in a tight line, willing himself to stay put.

'There is an issue.'

Levrier cleared his throat again and continued to speak in a grave tone

'As many of you have already stated, since she is a sacrifice, we should use it to it's full extent. She is still compatible, however, due to the lack of use of innocence in battle, the innocence is draining her life force as compensation. —'

his eyes swept around the room before landing on Kanda. With a smirk upon his face, he spoke again, with renewed vigor '—we have to experiment as soon as possible, before she dies from innocence refusal.'

Kanda could take listening to this no further. He slammed his fist onto the nearest tabletop, creating a sizeable dent.

'No.'

and he left swiftly before anyone could stop him. His word would be the first and final one he had spoken, and he needed to hear no more.

* * *

Kanda found that the girl had no reason to stay in the Order any further, and nor did Kanda. They would leave. Maybe with Moyashi as well, they were being such ass traps to him—

'Yuu-kun?'

Kanda stared down at the girl and she looked back with wide-eyes. The girl glanced at Lenalee before chuckling uneasily.

'Are you going on a mission?'

'Don't be daft, Mugen isn't even fixed.'

He growled before grabbing the girl by the wrist and forcing her onto her feet and tugging her out of the eatery. The girl tried to stay on her feet, she really did, but she was in no state to be dragged like that.

'Kanda—'

Lenalee's voice was behind him, and he got into a light jog, ignoring the girl's protests.

'Oi!'

Allen came up from behind to grab Kanda's left wrist, stopping him from dragging the girl.

'Can't you see she can't keep up with you?'

Kanda's breath came in puffs as he glowered at the white haired boy. When Allen met Kanda's gaze with unflinching eyes, the Japanese man dropped his gaze to the girl – the Sacrifice of War – to see that she was panting heavily, knees and palms scraped from the floor. Kanda kneeled down to carry the panting girl into his arms before standing up again. He gazed down at Allen steadily before noting the presence of Link.

'Hmph.' Said the Japanese man before striding away.

He would talk to Allen when Link wasn't around. - Kanda, not knowing where to bring her, had brought her back to the medical room; only to find Komui sitting in front of her bed. His hat off, he gave Kanda and the girl a tired smile before motioning for Kanda to place the girl onto the bed. She was asleep. 'You'll see her asleep more than awake nowadays. It's a natural mechanism to allow her to survive.' Kanda listened intently.

'She told me to tell you after she'd left, but Levrier had plans for her, so I couldn't just let it be. She said you… "Would forget quickly, like the others in the Order."' Komui chuckled humorlessly.

'It'd be difficult to forget though. She's wrong.' He sighed, reluctant to continue speaking. 'There's a reason why the CROW didn't euthanize you after finding you with Bak… They'd found a new test subject to work with Alma. Her future… this girl's prophecy wasn't supposed to be this bleak. She choose for it to be bleak.' Komui shifted uneasily as he spoke, unwilling to look at the Japanese man.

'She choose to forget her birth name and to be the new test subject for the Second Exorcist Program.' Komui's voice was now barely a whisper.

The girl could only cry silently into her pillow as Kanda patted her head softly, listening to Komui's cruel version of the truth. She couldn't possibly let Kanda see her like this.


End file.
